Peter Miller | Horse Racing Free Tips

C Z Rocket Back On Lasix, Returns To Hot Springs In Saturday Allowance

C Z Rocket was Oaklawn's top older male sprinter during the 2021 meeting that ended in May, but the millionaire multiple Grade 2 winner returns to Hot Springs for the 2021-2022 season trying to snap a five-race losing streak. The first chance comes in a high-end allowance sprint Saturday that his connections are using as a prep for the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes Jan. 29.

Co-owned by Southern California-based Tom Kagele, C Z Rocket was 2 for 2 last season at Oaklawn, toppling reigning male sprint champion Whitmore in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes and $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3). C Z Rocket is winless since, exiting a seventh in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar. But the late runner gets Lasix for the first time since last May's $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile Stakes (G3) in the 6-furlong eighth race.

“He needs it,” Kagele said Tuesday afternoon. “I don't think there's any secret he was falling off in races that he hasn't had Lasix, but he still ran pretty well. We tried him in the Breeders' Cup and didn't run that great there. Coming out of that race, his blood was a little off, so he had a little bit of an excuse there. He bounced out of it really well, so this race was like perfect timing and so we decided to run here instead of waiting for the Jan. 29 race.”

C Z Rocket, prior to leaving Southern California, recorded three workouts at San Luis Rey Downs for Saturday's race, which will mark his first for trainer Rene Amescua. On behalf of Kagele, trainer Peter Miller claimed C Z Rocket for $40,000 out of a fifth-place finish April 30, 2020, at Oaklawn. C Z Rocket then ripped off five consecutive victories, including the $150,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar and $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) at Santa Anita, before finishing second to Whitmore in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) in November 2020 at Keeneland.

Miller announced last month that he was taking a sabbatical from training to spend more time with his family and focus on his health, but would “continue to act as an advisor/racing manager to my owners and my assistants as well as staying involved as an owner myself.”

Amescua has raced extensively in California and won more than 900 races in his career, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization.

“I've known him for years,” Kagele said. “He was a trainer up at Golden Gate for years and just through the covid and other things, he kind of took a turn for the worse and lost some horses and some owners. Then, he recently said he was going to go out there to Oaklawn and I recommended him to Pete. I'm comfortable with it and Pete was, too. Pete owns part of C Z, also.”

After being claimed for $40,000 at Oaklawn, C Z Rocket began his winning streak against $50,000 claimers about a month later at Churchill Downs. The fifth-place finisher in that race, Hollis, was claimed for $50,000 and returned to set a 5 ½-furlong track record (1:02.17) in allowance company Dec. 10 at Oaklawn.

C Z Rocket, after escaping the claim box, won an allowance/optional claimer in June 2020 at Churchill Downs (he was in for a $62,500 tag) and set a 6 ½-furlong track record (1:15.00) three weeks later in a Keeneland allowance race. C Z Rocket has subsequently raced strictly in listed or graded stakes, spanning 10 races and roughly 15 ½ months.

“He'll be out there the whole meet,” Kagele said. “Hopefully, he does as well as he did last year.”

Regular rider Florent Geroux is named to ride C Z Rocket, the 5-2 program favorite, from post 8 for Saturday's eighth race, which has a $120,000 purse. Probable post time is 3:46 p.m. (Central). Also entered are millionaire Grade 2 winner Long Range Toddy and Mucho, a stablemate of Hollis who exits a runner-up finish, beaten a head, in the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine Stakes Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.

C Z Rocket, a 7-year-old gelded son of City Zip, has an 11-4-4 record from 30 career starts and earnings of $1,511,641.

The King Cotton is Oaklawn's first of three major races for older sprinters. The series continues with the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes (formerly the Hot Springs) March 19 and the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 16.

Moysey Records First Win of Meet

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Miller Fined For Third Medication Violation In 365 Days

Trainer Peter Miller, who announced in November he would be taking a hiatus from training, has been fined by the California Horse Racing Board stewards for picking up a third medication violation in 365 days. A ruling issued Dec. 6 revealed that Miller trainee Mr. Dougie Fresh tested positive for pheylbutazone in a post-workout test following a Sept. 13 workout at San Luis Rey Downs.

Miller has been fined $5,500 for the violation and given a half-point on his license in accordance with California's multiple medication violation rules. The half-point will expire in Sept. 13, 2022.

Additionally, the CHRB ruling cited Rule 1866(h) regarding the veterinarian's list, which outlines the requirements for a horse on the veterinarian's list to perform a workout and have blood and urine samples taken for drug testing before being released from the list.

On Aug. 7, Mr. Dougie Fresh was added to the veterinarian's list for five days due to an unspecified medication administration. On Aug. 26, the horse was claimed from Race 3 at Del Mar, but the claim was voided by the state veterinarian and Mr. Dougie Fresh was placed on the veterinarian's list due to unsoundness on Aug. 27.

Earlier this year, Miller trainee Hembree tested positive for isoflupredone after a Jan. 1 graded stakes race, and graded stakes winner Mo Forza tested positive for phenylbutazone after a workout in June.

On Dec. 5, Miller was listed as the new trainer on Manhattan Up, who was claimed out of the eighth race at Oaklawn. The new owner was listed as Tom Kagele.

“Managing a large stable is a 24-hour, 365-day a year endeavor,” said Miller on Nov. 18 regarding his decision to step back from training beginning on Nov. 29. “The effort to compete at the highest level of my profession has taken its toll on my family and my health and I believe this decision is best for me, my family and our future.”

Miller said at the time he would remain involved in racing as an owner and a racing advisor for his owners and assistants.

Mr. Dougie Fresh later returned to the races and won a claiming race Oct. 11 at Santa Anita, followed by a third in an Oct. 30 claiming contest at Santa Anita, where he was claimed by Doug O'Neill. He has since begun working out at Oaklawn.

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$5K Multiple Medication Fine For Miller

Trainer Peter Miller has been fined $5,000 and assessed one half (1/2) point in accordance with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) multiple medication violations rule as a result of Mr. Dougie Fresh (Ghostzapper) testing positive for phenylbutazone after working at San Luis Rey Downs on Sept. 13, according to a Los Alamitos board of stewards ruling Sunday.

Phenylbutazone–more commonly referred to as just “bute”–is a class 4, category C drug. This constituted Miller's third class 4 medication violation in California in 365 days.

On Sept. 2, Miller was fined $1,500 and assessed one half point in accordance with the CHRB's multiple medication violations rule as a consequence of Mo Forza (Uncle Mo) testing positive for phenylbutazone after working at San Luis Rey Downs June 19, 2021.

Mo Forza subsequently won a brace of GII races at Del Mar and Santa Anita–the Del Mar Mile S. and the City of Hope Mile S.

On April 10, Miller was fined $500 after Hembree (Proud Citizen) tested positive for Isoflupredone, a 4C penalty regulated drug, after winning the seventh race at Santa Anita Park Jan. 1.

When asked about the three class 4 medication violations this year, Miller pointed to California's relatively recently instituted out of competition medication regulations.

“Two of the violations were in morning workouts, that wouldn't have been violations in any other state in the country,” he wrote.

Last month, Miller announced that he was taking a hiatus from training, in order to spend “more time with his family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests.”

The hiatus, which according to a press release started Nov. 29, is expected to leave the everyday running of the barn in the hands of his assistant, Ruben Alvarado. Miller, however, will still maintain an advisory position along with his role as an owner, the release stated.

According to Equibase, Miller has no horses entered under his name. He did, however, claim Manhattan Up (Into Mischief) out of the Robertino Diodoro barn for $50,000 at Oaklawn Park on Sunday. Miller is listed as the new trainer.

For the past three years–and in light of the 2019 Santa Anita welfare crisis–the state's regulatory agency has markedly tightened the rules surrounding equine safety, placing an emphasis on the role of trainer responsibility.

As such, speculation had been mounting for some time that Miller has been the target of increased regulatory scrutiny due to five horses in his care suffering catastrophic injuries during 2021–the highest number of any single trainer in California this year.

Miller addressed those rumors in the press release, stating that his decision had not been triggered by any outside regulatory pressure.

As per the Oaklawn claim, Miller wrote in his text, “We are sending a string to Arkansas but will run under an assistant.”

Miller also addressed via text the equine fatalities he has incurred during a 12-month period. He wrote that the fatalities were “100% unavoidable,” which included three horses that incurred catastrophic shoulder injuries after layoffs. These specific injuries are often difficult to diagnose.

“Perfectly sound horses and my first and only heart attack in 35 years training,” he wrote, pointing also to Rustic Canyon (Unusual Heat), a 6-year-old gelding who suffered a sudden cardiac death during training at San Luis Rey on Feb. 26.

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All Three Stakes Winners Doing Well After Saturday Scores

The three stakes-winning horses from Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., showed no ill effects from their efforts and will be given some well-earned rest before “to be determined” next assignments.

Taken in order in which they were achieved:

Three Diamond Farm's Field Pass, a 4-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid, recorded career win number eight in his 23rd career start in the $250,000 Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap and the $150,000 winner's share of the purse boosted his career earnings to $913,143. Nolan Ramsey is trainer Mike Maker's assistant in charge of West Coast operations.

“Everybody's happy for the horse,” Ramsey said this morning. “He's a hard-trying horse and it's nice to see him punch his ticket. As far as what's next, the San Gabriel at Santa Anita (Park in Arcadia, Calif.) is an option but we have options back east as well.

“As of right now, he's booked on a flight to go back east Tuesday, but we'll find out today what we're going to do.”

The win by Tezzaray in the $100,000 G3 Jimmy Durante was the second in as many starts for trainer Peter Miller since being imported from England last summer. Ruben Alvarado, who is taking over as Miller takes a step back from training, said all three of the stable's Durante entrants – Liam's Dove (5th) and Travel Smart (6th), in addition to Tezzaray, were fine.

“I thought all three of my fillies ran very well and were given great rides,” Miller said after the race. “It's nice to win a stakes race on the way out.”

Trainer John Shirreffs said by text that Beyond Brilliant, winner of the $400,000 G1 Hollywood Derby was looking very good Sunday morning. “He had his head out waiting for his early morning feed. That's always a good sign.”

It was the third victory in nine starts for Beyond Brilliant, owned by the C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing of Arcadia. The $240,000 winner's share of the purse, earned via a masterful wire-to-wire guidance by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, raised the son of Twirling Candy's earnings to $381,280.

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